The Unvarnished Gospels

By: Gaus, Andy

Book Overview

The Unvarnished Gospels is a contemporary translation of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that lets the original Greek speak for itself. All other translations interpret the Greek through Church dogmas that arose centuries after the original texts. The reader can now get a remarkable new perspective on the Gospels, a "feel" for them that is very like the experience of reading the original Greek. This is a superb literary translation meant to be read...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0939660253
• ISBN13: 9780939660254
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Pleasantly Surprised!

This powerful book of the 4 gospels was mailed to me as part of a class called Dr. of Christian Studies that I signed up for through ULC Seminary. From the moment I opened its pages and began to read I found the characters to be so alive in content and truth. I also found it to be much easier to read, as it is in today's modern language, although thee's and thou's can be quite poetic, I find it much easier to grasp. Even the parables that Jesus spoke was explained with clarity! I am a Christian and a student of metaphysics. It was a breath of fresh air.

An Essential Version

I have a lot of bibles including a Pentateuch, an NIV Study Bible, a 1786 version of the KJ, a Comparative Study Bible with 4 translations, a New World and now, the Unvarnished New Testament, translated by Andy Gaus. I haven't even finished Matthew and I'm ready to scrap all the others. Centuries of piety have been scraped away leaving the story and words of Jesus more like they were uttered. The poor and the meek aren't "blessed", the are "in luck" ! You can sympathize with the early translator who thought "in luck" insufficently solemn for the words of the "son of humanity" (not, we note, the "Son of Man" as usually translated), but we praise Andy Gaus for giving us back a Jesus who was speaking to a common audience and using common words.The other great blessing of this translation is that all the verse breaks are left out and it is possible to read the Gospels like any book without constantly wrestling with the structure.I searched the net and found no attack on this work nor any suggestion that it is inaccurate or unsound.Unreservedly recommended.

Fascinating and Inspiring

This is a wonderful book and belongs on almost every bookshelf. The literal translation of the oldest Greek texts makes for some very compelling reading. The characters and events of the New Testament come alive. I personally didn't find too much that was "unorthodox". This is not a re-interpretation of the Gospels, but rather a new translation, and as such is not another New Age fantasy. It will inspire you, and also make you wonder how your official Bible came to differ from the original. But most of all, it will rekindle your love of the Gospels.

A must read!

This is the most readable translation of the gospels that I have come across, even more so than that of Richmond Lattimore. The conversational style is enlightening.

Astonishingly good

This translation of the Gospels will knock your socks off. It's strong, powerful, utterly accurate, and VERY different from what you're used to, all at the same time. A terrific achievement.